


taken too soon

by peachybagels



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Best Friends, Dead Toby Smith | Tubbo, Death, Ghost Toby Smith | Tubbo, Goodbyes, Grief/Mourning, Hurt TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Non-Canonical Character Death, Past Character Death, Platonic Relationships, Platonic Soulmates, Protective Wilbur Soot, TommyInnit Angst (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit Needs a Hug (Video Blogging RPF)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:01:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29271420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachybagels/pseuds/peachybagels
Summary: A world where Tubbo was taken too soon from Tommy’s world.
Relationships: Tommyinnit & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & Tommyinnit & Toby Smith | Tubbo
Comments: 11
Kudos: 92





	taken too soon

  
  


It was a sunny Tuesday in the middle of May. 

The sound of birds chirping and locusts buzzing was enough to shake Tommy out of his slumber. He groaned as he turned over in his bed, raising his arm to shield the sun from his eyes as he squinted towards the bedroom window, making note of the blinding sun. After pausing for a moment to allow his body to adjust, he took a deep breath and sluggishly kicked his blankets off, rolling off the bed.

Tommy made his way to the bathroom, stopping in front of the dirty mirror that sat over the sink. He made a mental note about getting around to cleaning it. He took note of his appearance as he reached up to rub the remaining sleepiness out of his eyes. His dirty-blond hair was definitely in need of a haircut, growing frizzy and spilling onto his forehead. His eyes that were once a vivid and bright blue now appeared to be more dull and icy in nature. He put both his hands on the rim of the sink and pressed into it, adding tension as he stared deeper into his reflection. 

_ I’m not ready. _

After getting himself ready for the day and sending a smile to both his parents, Tommy made his way outside. It was quite nice out. The weather had been so lovely lately; every morning promised a bright sun and clear skies. The sun shone through the tree branches and cast shadows on the grass below, making shapes Tommy liked to imagine were silhouettes of various people he knew. He watched as a few birds perched on the tree branches, seeming to communicate to each other through high-pitched chirps. Others were sat at the trunk of the tree, dusting their feathers with the loose dirt laying available. He watched as two squirrels ran up another tree, seemingly playing a game of tag with each other.

He turned his head in the opposite direction, to where he was meant to go. A dirt path led down a hill behind his house.

He forced his foot in motion towards his destination with hesitancy, as if there was something inside of him that disagreed. He followed the dirt path he knew all too well, muscle memory guiding the way as his brain wandered. He thought about all the previous times he had been down this path. He remembered someone once saying that eventually, this would become easy.  _ They lied, _ he thought to himself as he picked at the skin around his fingernails, a habit he subconsciously did whenever he was nervous. 

It took a while before Tommy made it to a clearance, where a singular log carved into a bench sat in the middle of a flower patch. Red carnations and blue iris’ were the only flowers he could identify, but he knew there were at least dozens of different types scattered around. Various insects and bugs made themselves apparent, as colourful butterflies danced between blossoms and dragonflies flew past. 

__ He paused as he approached the stone path that led to the wooden bench and clenched his eyes shut, drawing a deep inhale and giving himself time to mentally prepare to open the gates of suppressed emotions that were crammed inside of him, begging to be recognized. 

_ I’m not ready.  _

After a moment of silence, Tommy followed the neatly-placed stone path to the wooden bench and crouched down in front of it, lifting his finger and shakingly tracing the carved initials as he held in a breath and closed his eyes. 

_ “Okay, okay, keep walking...we’re almost there…” Toby said, holding Tommy’s hand and guiding him down a dirt path.  _

_ “Dude, where are you taking me?” Tommy whined, shifting his head uncomfortably as the make-shift bandana blindfold masked his vision. _

_ “Relax,” Toby replied, stretching out the last syllable. “Stop whining, you sound like a toddler.” _

_ Toby finally reached the end of the dirt path and let go of Tommy’s hand, circling behind him to untie the blindfold.  _

_ “Okay we’re here, but don’t take open your eyes until I say so, alright?” Toby said as he slowly untied the blindfold and removed it after Tommy nodded in acceptance. _

_ “Alright, open in 3...2....1! Open! Happy birthday!” Toby excitedly exclaimed, jumping in front of Tommy as he opened his eyes and saw the scenery in front of him.  _

_ The once empty plains were now a beautiful flower field, bright colours of red, blue and yellow scattered throughout. A singular log laid in the middle, the top quarter carved out as to make the log a bench of sorts. Beside the bench sat a radio, and Tommy watched as Toby quickly ran over and placed a CD inside. Soon enough the sound of Tommy’s favourite song, one that his mom used to sing to him began to play.  _

_ “Do you like it? You always said you were so stressed and needed a place to relax so I got some friends together the last few weeks and put this together! Sorry if the bench is a little uncomfortable, none of us really knew what we were doing but I think it looks okay! I can always sand it down a bit more if it’s too rough.” Toby rambled, nervously scratching the back of his neck.  _

_ “Toby...I…” Tommy was at a loss for words as his wide eyes kept dancing between the bright colours scattered around. No one had ever done something so nice for him.  _

_ “Thank you, Toby,” Tommy finally said after a moment of awe, “This is so so cool, I really appreciate it, dude.” Tommy reached forward and grabbed Toby, wrapping his arms around his torso and pulling him into a tight hug.  _

_ “Yeah, no problem T. I’m glad you like it, I was so scared it’d be too much or not enough or not right or not the right flowers or-” Toby rambled into Tommy’s shoulder before Tommy cut him off.  _

_ “No stop, it’s perfect. It’s absolutely perfect.” Tommy exclaimed, finally pulling away from the hug and walking over to the log bench as Toby followed. “What do you say we mark it ours?” Tommy said as he reached into the pocket of his khaki shorts and pulled out a swiss army knife, a tool he always kept on him since his dad gave it to him as a birthday present years ago.  _

_ Toby nodded in agreement as he watched Tommy carve the initials T.C for Tommy Carlson into the seat of the bench before handing the knife to Toby. Just under Tommy’s initials, he carved the initials T.S for Toby Simmons and carved an additional smiley face. Toby handed the knife back to Tommy and watched as Tommy lifted his finger and traced their initials over. _

_ “This is history now man. Someone’s gonna come here in 20 years and see these initials and think we were some cheesy couple.” Tommy joked, cracking a chuckle. _

_ “Oh shut up!” Toby laughed, throwing a light punch at Tommy’s shoulder.  _

“Hey Tommy, I thought I’d find you here.” A deep voice said, shocking Tommy and knocking him out of his memories. He whipped his head around to see a familiar friend standing awkwardly, a bouquet of flowers in one hand. 

“Oh, hey Wilbur,” Tommy said as his voice cracked, offering a weak smile and quickly wiping tears he didn’t know he had. Tommy studied Wilbur, making note of his appearance.

Wilbur was extremely tall in nature, measuring at least 6’7”. His soft brunette curls were buried underneath a maroon beanie, appearing longer than they did before, He had bags under his chocolate brown eyes as if he was getting just as much sleep as Tommy was nowadays. He wore a bright yellow jumper, one that granted Tommy some familiarity as he remembered that was Wilbur’s staple outfit piece, and some dark blue jeans. Strapped onto his back was his guitar, a beloved item he took everywhere with him.

Wilbur took Tommy’s response as an invitation to join him on the bench, lifting the guitar over his shoulder and leaning it against the log as he sat. Tommy immediately leaned into Wilbur’s shoulder, smelling the familiar cologne Wilbur always wore and let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. 

Wilbur had always been there for Tommy; a big brother he never had. Despite there only being a couple of years between the two, Tommy looked up to Wilbur like he was his idol. Wilbur was always there, whether Tommy needed someone to make him laugh or to sit beside him while he fell back asleep after another nightmare. Ever since The Accident, they’d grown closer than ever before. Wilbur had began to lean onto Tommy, seeking his company more often and finding activities to do together to distract them both from the reality they faced. They were each other’s support system. 

Wilbur was the one to break the silence, clearing his throat as he lifted the bouquet of flowers off his lap and leaned forward, placing them gently against the gravestone stood in front of them.

**Toby Michael Simmons**

**2000 - 2017**

**Forever loved by all.**

  
  


Tommy shut his eyes and shakily drew in a breath, falling back into Wilbur’s comfort and he leant back. 

“Do you remember the summer of 2015?” Wilbur asked, wrapping his arm around Tommy and holding the younger boy, gently caressing his arm with his thumb. “When Toby broke his arm after we made go-karts out of our skateboards and cardboard?”

“Yeah, he ended up going into a ditch and broke the skateboard in half, right? I remember him laughing until we pointed out that his arm was bent the wrong way.” Tommy cracked a smile and let out a small laugh. 

“Haha yeah, and then remember that night when he came back from the hospital? When he came back outside with a cast decorated with princesses? Because that was the only one the hospital has at the time?” Wilbur closed his eyes and let his head fall back onto the log, a reminiscent smile lingering on his face.

“Oh boy, we didn’t let him live that down. Didn’t he start wearing long sleeve shirts just so he could hide it too?”

“Oh my god yeah, he’d be sweating so bad but refused to change because he knew we’d laugh at him.”

Tommy paused. “Maybe we were too harsh, Wil.”

Wilbur lifted his head and directed his gaze at Tommy, who refused to open his eyes to meet Wilbur’s. “No, I don’t think so. At the end of the day, he knew we were just messing with him. He knew we really didn’t care.”

Wilbur leaned back into his spot as Tommy adjusted himself to where his head would lay in the crook of Wilbur’s shoulder. They fell into a comfortable silence, only broken by the occasional bee buzzing past.

_ Toby loved bees. _

After what felt like seconds but in reality was hours, Wilbur broke their hold and stretched, cracking his neck and straightening his legs as Tommy hesitantly sat up.

“Alright little man, I’ve got to go to work in an hour so I gotta head off,” Wilbur said, standing up and ruffling Tommy’s hair. “Call me tonight, alright? I wanna make sure you’re okay.”

“I’ll try to remember, Wil,” Tommy said, cracking a weak smile as Wilbur gave Tommy one last sympathetic smile before he turned, picked up his guitar, slung it over his shoulder, and began to walk away. 

The sun began to set. Beautiful rays of burnt orange and deep reds were set across the sky. The noise of buzzing bees and birds chirping began to die down. It was quiet. 

Tommy sat up on the bench, placing his elbows on his knees and holding his face in his hands, trying to find the words he was looking for. 

“So, It’s been four years,” He began, speaking the boy he wished he could see again. “It’s been four years Toby. I hope you’re enjoying the afterlife, whatever that could be.” His voice began to crack but he took a deep breath, trying to hold himself together. “Is it what you thought it’d be? Is your family there with you?” He shuddered as memories from the night of The Accident flooded his thoughts.

_ Tommy sat in his living room, his parents sat beside him as the local news station was broadcasted on the TV. All he could focus on was the title dancing across the screen. _

_ Breaking News: Family of 4 Dead after Fatal Collision with Drunk Driver. _

_ It’s as if everything moved in slow motion. The way his Mom’s hand immediately flew to her mouth as she let out a horrified gasp. The way his dad immediately forced his head into his hands. The way the TV showed a picture, one Tommy knew all too familiarly.  _

_ There was Toby, his mom, dad, and Emily, the youngest who was only born months ago. It was the family picture they had professionally taken just after Emily was born.  _

_ That’s impossible, Tommy thought. They were just together the day before, sat in Toby’s room playing the newest video game. There’s no way. This was just a bad dream. Just a nightmare.  _

_ It was when the funeral invitation was sent days later that Tommy accepted this was real.  _

Tommy choked out a sob as he was brought back to reality. It’s been four years, but it didn’t hurt any less.

“I miss you Tubs. I miss hearing your voice, I miss seeing your smile, I miss everything about you. I miss having you next door. I miss your texts. I miss your calls. I miss having my best friend. I want my best friend back, Toby. I need you back.” Tommy choked out between sobs, tears free falling. He didn’t bother holding anything back at this point.

“You didn’t deserve this. No one was more undeserving than you. You should be alive now, sitting here with me. You were such a good person, Toby. You didn’t do a single thing wrong. So why are you the one 6ft underground? It should be me down there. I’ve messed up so much Toby. You should be the one up here.” 

Tommy paused, taking a second to catch his breathe as fell apart to his late friend, directing his thoughts to the gravestone in front of him. This wasn’t where Toby was actually buried of course; he was buried with his family in a cemetery hours away. But his parents decided to put a memorial stone here, as a special place for Tommy to mourn. 

Tommy’s head flopped down, his tears hitting the flowers underneath him as he continued. “Mom and dad have me seeing a therapist now. They said I should be moving on now. They said I should be able to get out of bed every day. But I can’t. I can’t function knowing you’re not here. I can’t live without you, Toby. We were supposed to be best friends until we grew old. We were supposed to go to university together. We were supposed to live together. We were supposed to get our kids to be best friends like us. Who am I without you, Toby? Who am I?” Tommy forced out. 

Tommy sat in silence until the sun was completely down and the moon was the only light source in the sky. He continued to cry for a while but eventually calmed himself down. Looking at the stone in front of him with bloodshot watery eyes and a growing headache, he cracked a weak smile and leaned down, sniffling as he brought his hand to where Toby’s name was engraved. 

“It’s the 17th today. Happy birthday Toby. I’ll see you soon, alright? I love you.” Tommy got out before he rubbed his eyes and wiped his nose on his shirt sleeve. He sat for a second, then got up and made his way down the stone path before pausing at the end. He turned back to the flower patch, getting one last look at everything, then headed home for the night. 

  
  


Sat at the bench opposite where Tommy was sitting minutes ago was a pale figure, someone taken from the world too soon He sat there waiting; waiting for the day Tommy could see him, waiting for the day he could say goodbye. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hi!! So this is actually my first ever fic!! This was actually originally a story written with completely original characters for my creative writing class, but i thought the story would fit with Tommy and Tubbo (and Wilbur) :) I hope you guys liked it <3


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